viernes, 22 de agosto de 2014

International Support for Zapatist@s against the Chiapas counterinsurgency

To National and International Civil Society,
To the National and International Sixth,
To the free, autonomous, independent media or whatever they are called,
To the Good Government Juntas,
To the EZLN,
To the support bases of the EZLN,

Companeras, Companeros,

From our corners of this planet in resistance and rebellion against capitalism, we come together to publicly denounce the recent aggression against our brothers and sisters, support bases of the Zapatista Army of National Liberation, by the members of the organization ORCAO (Regional Organization of Coffee Growers of Ocosingo) against the BAEZLN communities of San Jacinto, El Egipto, Kexil and El Rosario, in the Autonomous Municipality of San Manuel.

The members of ORCAO arrived on the 25th of July, armed to take the reclaimed land, firing into the air, building roofs and threatening the 3 BAEZLN communities. On July 30, they came to poison the collective livestock of the autonomous municipality and wounded a young bull. Following the harassment, the armed group returned on the 1st of August, to attack the BAEZLN village of El Egipto. The women and children had to withdraw to another Zapatista settlement to avoid having to face the group. About 5 days later, they returned to cut down a tree, firing into the air close to two Zapatista communities.

Finally, on the 14th of August, in the very early morning, ORCAO paramilitaries surrounded the town of San Jacinto and fired into the houses, awakening the sleeping BAEZLN compas who had to take refuge in the other Zapatista village leaving behind all their belongings.

We vigorously denounce this intense violation of human rights, harassment, persecution and repression, and we denounce the direct strategy of the bad government against the Zapatistas, to counter the new Zapatista initiatives proposed during the exchange between the Indigenous National Congress and the EZLN. As the HRC Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas stated, this is a war of counterinsurgency being pursued by the bad state and federal government and their business allies against the Zapatistas.

We are well aware of this strategy which affects several regions of Chiapas, and we also do not forget the attack on our sisters and brothers from La Realidad, the murder of our companero Galeano, and the destruction of the clinic and school of the community on May 2nd, perpetrated by paramilitaries from CIOAC-H.

That is a direct attack against Zapatista autonomy, as the Zapatistas are becoming stronger, we realise more and more that the construction of Zapatista autonomy, which is this other world that they are building, is working and walking. Likewise we also become stronger and more organised, and the plans of the bad government will not be enough to stop the progress of the Zapatistas.